This invention relates to an imaging system, and more particularly, to a method and resulting interface for integrating standard imaging functionality with an existing user application program.
Heretofore the provision of imaging functionality to a user application program involved modifications to the software of the host user application. Such modifications were necessary to establish a logical link between the user application software and the imaging system. These modifications enabled the user to image certain physical documents in correspondence to a particular screen display of the user application. Such modifications can involve substantial software development resulting in significant time, trouble and expense.
Imaging systems are available which allow one to convert paper documents into imaged data. In order to access the imaged document, it is necessary for the user to transfer data from the displayed application screen to the imaging system. Once transferred the imaging system has sufficient information for finding the previously stored imaged document. As such systems do not readily establish a user interface between the various screens of the user application programs and the stored imaged documents the user environment can be awkward and ineffective.
Accordingly, it is desired to have means for integrating an existing imaging functionality to an existing user application program which easily establishes an interface between the user application and imaging system.
In response thereto we provide means for establishing an interface between the user application program and an imaging system so that an imaging functionality is integrated with the user application program without modification thereto. The interface utilizes a separate data channel/buffer/mailbox combination which receives therein an application data stream corresponding to the video terminal display of a data screen of the user application. The separate channel/buffer combination enables such a data stream to be monitored with no interference with the user application program. This diversion also allows a hierarchy of control actions, in the form of programmable control logic, to be performed on the data stream which relates selected data of the application screen with the imaging functionality. A screen template defines a method of accessing preselected data from an application screen so as to form a data pattern. The data pattern is then associated with a positional key of the imaged document as provided by the imaging system. Upon a subsequent display of the screen the template presents the defined accessing method such that the data pattern is again created. This function allows screen data patterns to be created and compared with previously stored data patterns as combined with a positional key of a corresponding imaged document. Upon a match of data patterns the associated positional key is used by the imaging system to locate the imaged document. Once located the imaged document is converted to a user readable form.
It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide an interface between an imaging system and a user application program.
Another object of this invention is to provide an interface, as aforesaid, which requires no modifications to be made to the logic of the application program.
Another object of this invention is to provide an interface, as aforesaid, which provides means of creating a pattern of preselected data from a screen display of the user application and associating the data pattern with an imaged document.
A further object of this invention is to provide an interface, as aforesaid, wherein positional information of the imaged document in a database is associated with the aforesaid data pattern.
Another object of this invention is to provide a screen template to said interface which defines an application screen to which the imaging functionality is to be provided.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a screen template, as aforesaid, which uses information from a screen display of the user application to establish a data relationship between the application and the imaging system.
Another object of this invention is to provide in said interface a screen template, as aforesaid, which provides a predefined method of accessing a selected data pattern according to the particular screen display.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a channel/buffer combination parallel to the host computer so as to monitor application screen data which defines the screen displays of the user application.
Another particular object of this invention is to provide a separate channel/buffer combination, as aforesaid, which enables a hierarchy of control operations to be conducted on the screen data without interference with the user application program.
A still further object of this invention is to provide an interface, as aforesaid, which presents an organizational indexing structure for accessing the imaged documents from a database.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.